Friday, January 7, 2011

"Ramuan Rahasia" feature film funding appeal

Please help to spread the word.

This is an appeal to assist funding to complete the still-in-progress feature film, "Ramuan Rahasia" [The Missing Ingredient]. Production commenced in 2009 but has stalled due to insufficient funds. Read on for funding details..

Also visit the appeal page on Facebook.


"Ramuan Rahasia", blends spicy food, classic Nusantara Malay songs and unrequited love into a digestible contemporary platter. The film not only entertains, your monetary pledges will support to document a cultural collage unique to Southeast Asia.

THE FILM



If music be the food of love, play on... (Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, Act 1, Scene 1)

"Ramuan Rahasia" is inspired by food films such as Ang Lee’s Eat Drink Man Woman, Lars Halström’s Chocolat, Gabriel Axel’s Babette’s Feast and Alfonso Arau’s Like Water For Chocolate.

Thus in "Ramuan Rahasia", the dish used is Sambal Goreng, a signature Malay dish. To further anchor the work in the regional social context, evergreen Nusantara folk songs such as Si Jali-jali and Sayang di Sayang, have been incorporated which will be sung by and give greater dimension to key characters in the film.

"Ramuan Rahasia" also pays homage to the musical film genres directed by the late P Ramlee and M Amin at Shaw and Cathay-Keris Studios respectively.

THE CINEMATIC PROJECT
Potentially the first full-length Malay-language feature film made in the country in forty years, imagine "Ramuan Rahasia" as the meeting of Zhang Yimou's Raise The Red Lantern peppered by Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding with a dash of Robert Benton's Kramer vs Kramer.

Rahim Razali, a legend in Southeast Asian Malay cinema, heads the list of well-known talent.

The cross-cultural components that make up "Ramuan Rahasia" taps on the ready Malay-speaking audience in 'Nusantara', where a majority totalling 370-million reside in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia alone. The film situates itself as speaking from the centre of the Nusantara. On top of that, the cross-cultural themes in the film are a magnet to the Malay diaspora and lovers of Malay culture around the world. The universal theme of love lost and reconciled should guarantee it a wide potential audience.

THE FUNDING
The project needs S$300 000 more to complete. This fund is required to film the remaining 10 days of shoot, including post-production costs. The initial 65% was filmed out of Sanif Olek's own resources.

Transaction methods
PAYPAL acct: sanif.olek@gmail.com
Post Office Savings Bank (Singapore) a/c no: 085 827 227

All currencies in Singapore dollars.

BASIC $10-100
Immense gratitude and appreciation

PREMIUM I $200-300
Signed script.

PREMIUM II $400-500
Signed DVD + Credit on website

PREMIUM III $1000-2000
Signed DVD + 2 tickets to the premiere screening.

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER $4000-5000
All of the above + Thank you credit on film

CO-PRODUCER $10 000
All of the above + Opening credit on film

PRODUCER $50 000
All of the above + Opening credit on film